United boss to spend big on struggling team when transfer window re-opens.
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Manchester United manager David Moyes has put together a five-man shortlist of his main priorities for this January’s transfer window as he seeks to improve his club’s fortunes on the pitch, CaughtOffside can reveal.
United slumped to their third league defeat of the season on Saturday in a shock 2-1 home loss to West Brom, leaving them eight points behind current Premier League table-toppers Arsenal, and giving the club their worst start for 24 years.
With Moyes taking on the difficult task of replacing the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson after his retirement in May, the club are now set to back him in the transfer market to make the required improvements to key areas of the team’s squad, and will hope to aid the Scot in landing these five big-name players.
Eliaquim Mangala (Porto)
After United’s defence were badly exposed in defeats to both Manchester City and West Brom, Moyes is said to be ready to step up his interest in promising Porto starlet Eliaquim Mangala to shore things up at the back. The 22-year-old Frenchman is widely regarded as one of the best young defenders in the world and had attracted strong interest from a whole host of top European clubs this summer, including Chelsea, Manchester City and Barcelona. United were also linked as admirers of his, and will spend big to bring him to Old Trafford in the middle of the season.
Mangala reportedly has a minimum release clause of around £40m, and though Moyes will hope to persuade Porto to sell for slightly under that, the Scot may be willing to meet that clause in order to land this top defensive target, who could go on to be a great signing for the club for many years to come. Moyes will look at United’s £28m signing of Rio Ferdinand over a decade ago and see how well that particular big investment paid off for his predecessor Ferguson, with Mangala showing similar potential to be a great of his generation.